Wagon-bed



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shed 2. M. MILLS.

WAGON BED. No. 374,876. Patented Dec. 13, .1887.

UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFIC 'MARVIN MILLS, OF FAIRMOUNT, MISSOURI. I

'" WAGON-BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,876, datecl December 13, 1887.

Application filed May 31, 1857. Serial No. 239,831. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, MARVIN MrLLs, of Fairmount, in the county of Clark and State of Missouri, acitizen of the United States,have invented anew and useful Improvement in Wagon-Beds, which is made and used substan tially as set forth hereinafter, and as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of wagonbed. Figs. 2 and 3 show corner-strap andmodification. Fig. 4 shows parts of end-gate and irons. Fig. 5 shows tierod, hook, and nut. Fig. 6 shows opposite end-gate and irons. Fig. 7 shows same at right angles to Fig. 6.

The object of this invention is to form an improved wagon-bed which can be built rapidly and cheaply, and which will be strong and possess certain desirable qualities.

To this end the invention consists in a system of parts made and arranged in the manner and with the features substantially asshown and as set forth.

The improved wagon-bed is formed of system ofparts of wood and metal which can be separately made so as to fit together with little detail labor in their assemblage. parts consist of bottom A, sides B B, crossbars H H, and front and rear end-gates,O G,

. formed of wood, and of a series of irons,braces I, and cornerstraps K K, end-gate straps E E, tierods F F, hooks G G, and various incidentals. The two end gates and their accompanying irons are made similar in general, but are varied in certain details to adapt the two end-gates to different desirable functions.

The bottom boards, A, are held together by cross-bars H, and the side boards, B, are held to these bars by braces I and by corner-straps K K at the corners, using nails, rivets, or bolts, as required, for attachment. The corner-straps have bolt-like ends, which extend down through the bottom A and cross-bars H, having shoulder-bearings to rest on the bottom A above and nuts to hold the bars below, while held solidly to the side boards. These straps have flanges projecting inward from their inner faces to hold the end-gates. For the front end-gate these flanges are made continuous, as in Fig. 2,K, and fit in a groove between the end gate 0 and its cross-strap E,

These so as to hold the end-gate upright in place, while free for removal vertically. Fig. 3 shows a modification of this, having two projecting. flanges, between which the end of the endgate fits and slides vertically, which can be substituted whenever desired. For the rear end gate these two projections are cut away, except at points Z Z Z, as in vertical plan in Fig. 6 and in projection in Fig. 7, the upper one being in dotted lines in Fig. 7. The strap in this case is shown bent to suit the location of these projections, and the projections Z Z have holes in them, forming eyes to receive hooks on parts E G, as shown.

The two end-gates O G are removable, and are provided with tie-rods G G and crossstraps E E on their ends to protect them from splitting and to connect with the projections from the corner-straps K K,to hold them upright and in place. They are modified tosuit the different functions required of them by their positions, so that the front end-gate, G, will be held upright only and will be removable by sliding vertical]y,and so the rearendgate, 0, will be held up vertical or inclined back, as in Fig. 6, to facilitate shoveling in unloading, and will be removable by unhooking parts E by horizontal motion from eyes I.

The front end-gate, O, has a space, Fig. 4, between it and its cross-strap E,to fit over the projection on the corner-strap K, to hold the end-gate upright. Asecond projection, as in Fig. 3,K, may be made so the gate will slide between the two vertically.

The rear end gate, 0', has the lower ends of its straps E bent as hooks to fit in eyes I in the projections of straps K, to hold the bottom of the end-gate in place, while they allow it to turn backward, as in Fig. 6, for unloading, and also let it turn back for unhooking and removal, and turn forward to rest against projection Z The end-gates have tie rods F F attached to them, which have eyes in their ends to fit over or receive hooks to hold the side boards together. In front these hooks G, Fig. 5, are held to the side boards by bolt-like projections and nuts, which are screwed up to tighten them. In the rear the rod F is shorter than the end-gate and the hooks G are borne on rods which swing in eyes Z in straps K. These hook-rods are also used to hold the end-gate by eyes N, when it is turned back, as in Fig. 6. The ends of the back end-gate,G, and their irons E are cut or bent with spaces to pass projections Z as they are turned back or forward, and to rest against projections Z, to sup port the gate upright.

The two end-gates and their irons may be made alike when different functions are not desired, and other modifications can be made.

I claim 1. A wagon-bed having the sides and bottom boards held together by corner straps having inward projections from the straps,in combination with two end-boards armed with cross-irons on their ends arranged to engage with said inward projections and bearing tierod irons with eyes in their ends arranged to engage with hooks attached to the sides, said end-board irons a'ndconnections being differentiated with a sliding and a hinged action, substantially as set forth.

2. A wagon-bed having sides and bottomboards connected by corner-straps having inward projections from the straps, in combination with an end-board armed with crossirons on its ends having spaces between the board and irons to receive and hold upon said inward projections.

3. In a wagon-bed, an end-board having a tie-rod fixed thereto, bearing eyes in its ends to engage with vertical tie-hook pins borne on the Sideboards, and having its ends armed by cross-strap irons adapted to engage with projections from thoside-boards to hold the endgate upright.

4. In a wagon-bed, the combination of the bottom and side boards and cross-bars held together by corner-straps having inward pro- MARVIN MILLS.

In presence of J. T. FAIRBROTHER, .T.T. MORRIS. 

